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FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
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FureverFurry

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[Rant] Now MORE veterinary medicine shortages !

Good grief ! Not only are the LRS fluids (lactated ringers/IV drip solution) STILL on backorder, there are even MORE pharmaceuticals used to treat cats/dogs on national backorder.

Latest (for me) are:
the famodidine injectable. That's generic Pepcid
hyproheptadine - used as an appetite stimulant in cats (yes, cats CAN be anorexic)

Just having a rant here, but this is really becoming pathetic.
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1

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said by FureverFurry:

hyproheptadine - used as an appetite stimulant in cats (yes, cats CAN be anorexic)

Just having a rant here, but this is really becoming pathetic.

Human drug shortages continue, even for mission-critical meds.
»www.accessdata.fda.gov/s ··· ault.cfm

So not surprised to see it continuing in elective meds for cats....

Not dissing cats, just the reality.

I think that you might mean "cyproheptadine" by the way.
»www.vetinfo.com/cyprohep ··· ats.html

FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
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FureverFurry

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said by PX Eliezer1:

I think that you might mean "cyproheptadine" by the way.

Good catch ! It's in such short supply, I forgot the "cypro" part . Thanks.

Now what is your take on these incessant shortages, both human and animal? Not knowing all the specifics, my 'pawsonal' view is that the almighty dollar is behind it. How can it be that the United States is having such a problem.

One veterinarian is delicately hinting about too much FDA interference.
PX Eliezer1
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join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

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PX Eliezer1

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The FDA is in a hard place because drug companies DO try to cut corners, and the supply has to be kept safe.

They are stuck in the middle.

Clearly there have been cases where excessive regulation made a product unavailable.

As I have posted before this was the case with Pre-Pen, which only has one job on this earth (Penicillin allergy skin testing) and which was unavailable worldwide for several years (for no good reason) because of the FDA.

OTOH, there are increasing quality and safety concerns with meds especially those imported from India and so forth.

And meds that are 100 percent counterfeit are a problem too.

-----

Cyproheptadine is a generic (the original brand was Periactin) and is dirt-cheap.

Maybe because it's dirt cheap there is not much incentive to manufacture it.

Drug companies seem to have not as much problem manufacturing expensive meds that are still on patent (eg Viagra).

Generic drug prices have recently shot up at an alarming rate. IF that makes some meds more available maybe that's good....
rody_44
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join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

rody_44 to FureverFurry

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My dog takes Zonisamide which is a human and pet medication. Wallmart was claiming national back order and it couldnt be gotten but in batches of around 10. I went to Riteaid who had no clue what they were talking about.
PX Eliezer1
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PX Eliezer1

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said by rody_44:

My dog takes Zonisamide which is a human and pet medication. Wallmart was claiming national back order and it couldnt be gotten but in batches of around 10. I went to Riteaid who had no clue what they were talking about.

Sometimes it depends on which distributor the pharmacy is using, the large chains tend to each use just one particular distributor.

Zonisamide in the 100 mg dosage is being reported as in shortage by at least one veterinary pharmacy, smaller size doses are available.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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Mullica Hill, NJ

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The thing I do not get is drip solutions their base is pretty much salt water, Why is that so hard to produce in a sterile setting in the US? From what I understand the base solution for animals and humans is imported.
PX Eliezer1
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PX Eliezer1

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said by Kearnstd:

The thing I do not get is drip solutions their base is pretty much salt water, Why is that so hard to produce in a sterile setting in the US?

*

“To make one of these drugs is very complex, even though the drug itself is simple,” said Valerie Jensen, the director of the drug shortage program at the Food and Drug Administration. “It takes about three weeks to make one batch of normal saline from start to finish.”

She says the key challenge is making sure saline products are sterile. More than 30 steps and a range of supplies are involved in producing sterile saline. Jensen says FDA inspectors have reason to keep a close eye on any drug injected intravenously. She says they’ve found some nasty things in IV drugs: bacteria, mold, glass particles.

»kaiserhealthnews.org/new ··· worried/
(Much more info in that article)

Also from this month's Forbes:
»fortune.com/2015/02/05/t ··· -saline/
rody_44
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Quakertown, PA

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That was actually my point. While i dont use a veteranary pharmacy. When someone tells me its a national backorder item i dont expect to be able to go across the street and it be in supply. But thats exactly the way it was and is. Zonisamide isnt a medicine that you can just stop giving your pet. After dealing about 6 months with this so called national backorder i have been going to rite aid for around 6 months now and have never heard a peep about a national backorder.

Its a PIA when your getting 4,6,7 10 if i was lucky pills a shot when your dog takes 2 a day. Rite Aid gives me the whole 60 pills a month all at once. While its used for seizures on people its also very effective against seizures for this little guy.
PX Eliezer1
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PX Eliezer1

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Glad you are able to get it.

It's always good to check various pharmacies if one store tells you they can't get something.

In the old days a local pharmacist might call various distributors to try to get something for the patient.

These days, as I said, each chain store pharmacy tends to narrowly use one distributor....

FureverFurry
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said by rody_44:

While its used for seizures on people its also very effective against seizures for this little guy.

Cute little guy ! A lot of the pet medications are used used for humans so I check both human and special vet pharmacies. With the exception of maybe the lactated ringers needing sterility in manufacturing, etc. -- I wonder just how many of these "shortages" are profit driven. Clavamox (62.5mg) is wonderful for treating feline UTIs -- and the price has skyrocketed. A vet told me it's highly unstable so the shelf life (per se) is very, very short so no point in stocking up.
rody_44
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Quakertown, PA

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rody_44

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Zonisimide was under patent protection up to about a year ago. It always ran around 75 to 80 dollars for 60 pills. Since its been off patent protection now we never really know what we will be paying until we pick it up. Not that it matters anymore. Once you locked into it you pretty well need to ride it out until. It might get adjusted but he will always be taking it. Its cheaper now but with the patent protection curve who knows.

I do know when it was patent protected and no generics were allowed it was more. But at least they always had a supply. As soon as generics were allowed is when all the issues started up. Knowing its a medication the dog has to have and they were always shorting me. I was very unhappy when i went in and they said the lady made a mistake and didnt order it. Lets just say they were finding me some or i was leaving with a new set of handcuffs. They found me some across the street at Rite Aid and ive been using them ever since.

The national backorder bullshit went on for months. Rite Aid says there is no national backorder.